Big brands continue to appeal to the young

Are Big Brands Dying? by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute in Australian looks at the scientific research from published peer-reviewed journals to reject the opinion that the world is turning against big brands.

The Institute released the report in response to speculation that big global brands are losing out to small local brands, that young people today are less brand loyal, and that small brands have higher loyalty than large brands.

The report found that the top five brands in any category are more likely to be growing sales than losing sales, in spite of competition from small brands as well as retailer’s own private labels.

Professor Byron Sharp, director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, said: "When someone shouts that big brands are dying they get a lot of attention because big brands pay the salaries of many, and make up a large chunk of our pension funds.

"But the scary story that large brands are dying turns out to be wrong. These claims are dangerous because they are being used to justify hasty, ill-thought out marketing strategy."

For instance, one popular fiction it researched is that consumers are rejecting ‘corporate’ brands and instead seeking eco/purpose/hipster brands.

Co-author of the report, Professor Magda Nenycz-Thiel said there was a lack of substance behind the claim. "Our analysis reveals that in more than 40% of cases, leading brands actually do better among under-25 year-olds than they do selling to older consumers.

"While there is certainly a trend for brands to signal virtues like being eco-friendly, the idea that young people increasingly distrust and reject big brands is not backed by the evidence."